Uninvited Guest
by MoonageDaydream23
Summary: Somewhere between Zydrate Anatomy and Night Surgeon, Shilo gets a visit from that guy who just won't leave her alone.  Maybe she doesn't want him to.  First ever Repo! fic, written for a friend's birthday.  Grilo because it's awesome!


Shilo jumped a foot in the air when she heard a knocking at her window. She leapt from her bed to unlock it and allow entry to the owner of the painted face now grinning down at her. "I thought I told you I can't see anyone?" she told him, shooting a nervous glance at the locked door. Her father had been called away to help a patiet, but he could be back at any moment, and what was she to do if he heard the voices from her bedroom?

"What, a guy can't make sure the girl he picked up in an alleyway got home safely?" Graverobber replied with a roguish grin. He brushed past her, striding from balcony to bedroom as if he owned the place. "It's a dangerous place out there, kid. All sorts of stuff could go wrong for a girl who doesn't know what she's doing, even in just a couple seconds."

"I'm fine." Surprisingly, she was, at least physically. Emotionally, she wasn't fine by any means, especially after the news she had just been given about Mag, and her voice gave that away. "But Dad—"

Graverobber chuckled. "Don't worry, kid, I'll be long gone by the time he shows up. Then you can go back to being a sad little recluse all you want." The way he was smiling at her was more than a little unnerving, yet exciting in a way Shilo could barely begin to understand.

"Now?" she asked hopefully, for both of their sakes. Her dad would kill her, and the last thing she wanted was for the drug dealer to get arrested.

"So eager to get rid of me," Graverobber noted, laughing again as he toyed with some of the medical equipment around her bed. Shilo sighed in defeat and went back to sit on her bed, watching him with a wary eye. He looked strange and completely out of place, his ragged clothes and filthy hair contrasting sharply with her sterile, girly room. She liked it, though, she decided, even if his curious fingers were leaving smears of gravedirt on her stuffed animals. Anyone else would have thought he was looking for valuables to drop into the pocket of his greatcoat, but Shilo wasn't so sure. She trusted him more than she reasonably should have- maybe it was because he'd saved her life twice now.

Shilo was so absorbed in watching the Graverobber that she almost didn't notice when he spoke to her once again. "You figure out what to do about Mag yet?" He was looking at her in the mirror, and there was no more laughter on his face. Instead, she was surprised to find, his Zydrate-blue eyes were filled with concern.

"Me?" Shilo squeaked, alarmed. How could a girl too sick to even leave her room ever hope to save anyone from the clutches of the most powerful man in the world?

"Duh. You should have seen your face when I told you what was gonna happen to her." The mocking smile was back on his painted lips, but the worry was still there in his eyes. It was a weird thing to see on a man who was supposed to care about nothing but himself and his "business."

"I don't want her to die." Shilo's eyes were suddenly prickling with tears, and she looked like the lost, little girl she was. "But what can I do? I can't even leave my—"

"Don't give me that crap," Graverobber interrupted sharply. "You were fine tonight, wheren't you?" Shilo nodded mutely. "Something tells me Daddy's not telling the whole truth here." The Zydrate dealer sat down next to the infected girl on the bed, close enough for her to breathe in his scent of leather, decayed flesh, and rotting trash. Should the smells of death have been so comforting?

"But what can I do?" Shilo sniffed.

"You're a smart kid, you'll think of something." Graverobber was grinning again, a grin that said only clearly, _I know something you don't know..._ "If anyone has it in her to stop Rotti from fucking her up too bad, it's you."

"What make you so sure?" Shilo asked, inching so close to him she was almost leaning against his chest. His strong arms pulled her the rest of the way, holding her tightly. She didn't know why he was so determined to make her feel better, even if his cryptic words weren't exactly helpful, but she was glad for it.

"Surviving out on those streets means you need one hell of an intuition," Graverobber replied, calloused fingers toying with a strand of her wig. "You've got what it takes, Shilo." It was the first time he'd ever called her by her name instead of just "kid," and she hoped it wouldn't be the last. She liked the sound of it in his rough, low voice.

She sat wrapped in his arms for a time that could have been a moment or an eternity. Who knew the scum of the city could actually turn out to be a good man, one who would comfort you with sweet words and a warm embrace? Suddenly, the sound of the door downstairs opening jolted the pair of them back to reality.

"Dad," gasped Shilo, leaping to her feet with a look of utter horror on her face that, annoyingly, wasn't matched by her uninvited guest. He wasn't even moving, and she didn't think it wasn't humanly possible for someone to look cockier. "Come on, you have to go, you're gonna get us caught!" she whispered frantically, trying to push him back towards the window. Her tiny, diseased frame wasn't doing a thing against his tall, muscular one, however.

"Relax, kid," was all he said before he slowly stood. Then, he did something that took her breath away, something she would never in a million years have expected. She would have gladly given up every chance for a cure if it meant this could go on forever, though she was too stunned to respond until the very end.

He was gone as fast as it had happened, diving out the window to climb down the side of the mansion the moment Nathan Wallace's hand rattled on Shilo's doorknob. She threw herself into her bed, hastily wiping Graverobber's black lipstick from her mouth with the underside of her sheet and pretending she'd been asleep this whole time.

"Hey." Her dad smiled at her from the doorway, looking slightly worried about something. Shilo had learned long ago not to ask about things like that. He never did answer. "Did you take your medicine while I was gone?"

"Yes," Shilo lied, hiding a small smile. Surely he'd have a coronary if he knew the truth. _I'm sorry, Daddy, I forgot. I was too busy with a drug dealer and some prostitutes…._

"Good." Nathan smiled warmly at her, though it didn't extend to his anxious eyes. His hand dipped into his shirt pocket, emerging with two more pills. Shilo looked up at him questioningly as she accepted the next dose of medicine. "I got another call," he explained. That must be why he looked so anxious. "I don't like leaving you alone this often…."

"I'll be fine," Shilo promised. "Your patients need you."

Nathan still looked a bit uncomfortable, but mollified nonetheless. "Call me if anything goes wrong. Shilo, you're the world to me." He bent to kiss his daughter's forehead and was gone. As soon as the door behind him, Shilo's mind turned right back to the only other man who had ever kissed her. She studied the black smear of his lipstick on her sheet and promised herself that she'd live up to his words and save Mag, just like he said she could.


End file.
